A's Reddick thrived after moving down

Updated 12:23 am, Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Josh Reddick's slump ended the day Bob Melvinmoved him from third to sixth in the lineup. Reddick was hitting .149 over 23 games. The day he was moved down, Aug. 25, he went 3-for-4 and hasn't stopped hitting.

One game later, he began a seven-game stretch (through Sunday) that earned him the American League's Player of the Week, and he confessed Tuesday that getting bumped to sixth "took a lot of pressure off. I was grinding for that whole month, and it kept building up and building up. Not trying to put the whole team on my back helped out a lot."

After batting sixth three times, Reddick returned to his No. 3 spot, apparently for good.

"We count on him in the No. 3 spot," Melvin said. "But it's a long season, and everybody goes through difficult periods. He's been a tough guy all year, a consistent guy all year. Coming off a rough stretch, to have such a good week shows a little bit about his tenacity. It shows there's no quit in him."

During the week, Reddick hit .387 (12-for-31) with three homers and 10 RBIs. Two other A's have won weekly awards this season: Brandon Mossand Yoenis Céspedes.

"I'm honestly honored to be part of it, getting the Athletics out there, representing these guys," Reddick said. "The more important thing, during that week, we didn't lose a game."

Briefly: The A's promoted reliever Jim Millerfrom Class A Stockton, his fourth stint of the year in Oakland. ... Brandon McCarthy, Wednesday's starter, has faced the Angels once this year, giving up five runs in seven innings of a 6-0 loss April 16. ... Monday's loss not only ended the A's win streak at nine, it ended the rotation's win streak at eight, matching the second longest in Oakland history and longest since June 2006.

A'S ON DECK

Wednesday

vs. Angels

12:35 p.m. CSNCA

Haren (9-10) vs. McCarthy (8-5)

Thursday

Off

Friday

at Mariners

7:10 p.m. CSNCA

Griffin (4-0) vs. Hernandez (13-6)

A'S LEADING OFF

Hooray for Hollywood: Tuesday was the 10th anniversary of Scott Hatteberg's made-for-the-movies homer that secured a 20th straight win. It was shown with Bill King's call, "Crazy. Just plain crazy."